‘General’ Mannaseh: “I write and sing what I feel in my heart”

He is one among the few well known South Sudanese gospel musicians. He was born in Omdurman in the North of the country, but has been a refugee in Kenya for more than one decade. He began his musical journey in 2004 when he featured in Emmanuel Jal’s album, ‘Voice of My Heart’. He is called Mannaseh Mathiang. He has performed in different parts of Kenya and also in South Sudan. His genre is reggae and afro-fusion. He says that the foundation of his music is God. “My aim is to give glory back to God. I basically worship God in most of my songs” He says that his songs are inspired by God because he prays and seeks His will before he writes any song. “I then write what I feel in my heart after seeking the will of God.” Like every other musician who is inspired by someone else, Mathiang’s inspiration to sing came from his older sisters, who used to sing in church and in other places. So far, Mathiang has written more than 50 songs and produced 30 of them. Among his songs are Ya Sudani, Like Yours and Forgiveness, among others. He was among the founding members of the South Sudan Artistes Association in Nairobi Kenya, and was among the organizers of the first Miss Malaika Beauty Pageant for South Sudanese residents in Kenya, in 2005. This was no mean achievement for the group. The group brings together all South Sudanese in Kenya for the purpose of empowerment. He was born in a family of six sisters and two brothers. Their father, Hon. Rev. Matthew Mathiang Deng, is a member of parliament in the unity government in Khartoum, and is a member of the Peace and Reconciliation Committee in the South Sudan parliament. Besides singing, Mannaseh with one of his sisters, owns a company in South Sudan, known as Marketing Solutions, which is involved in public relations, advertising and organizing of corporate events. He plans to relocate to Juba in January just after the much awaited referendum vote in January 2011. Asked about his faith, he is emphatic that he is a Christian. He got born again in a Pentecostal church, he goes to a Baptist church but was raised in the Presbyterian church where his father is also a minister. Manasseh says that a lot needs to be done in South Sudan in as far as gospel music is concerned. He laments that there are far too many secular musicians compared to gospel singers. He says that he knows of only two gospel singers from South Sudan, Daniel Lasuba in Nairobi and Mary Botul in Khartoum. “There could be others but they are hidden. They are not exposed.” But he is not only lamenting. He is doing something about it. He intends to start a company to reach out to the youth. “I would like to raise up and disciple other South Sudanese to lead them into worshipping God.” And if all goes well, he should be holding monthly Christian concerts in Juba, in partnership with other churches in 2011. His musical journey has not been without its challenges. One of them being that he sometimes goes to places where people don’t understand English or Arabic (the languages he uses in his songs), and so he has to look for an interpreter. Also, some local stations are selective and discriminative in the kind of song they play on the air. This leaves many foreign musicians at a disadvantage. But this is not to say that his music has not received air time. Actually, his music has been played on both local TV and radio stations. He says that as a gospel musician who is first known as a Christian, his character has to stand up because many people look up to him, especially the youth. That sometimes puts pressure on him, just like it would for any other public figure. Some musicians have said that music does not pay. But Mannaseh differs. He says that music pays. ‘Without a good strategy, it will not work. You need to be well organised and package your product well for you to sell.” One advice he gives to upcoming musicians is to use their influence to engage in other income generating activities to supplement their income from music. Like any other southerner now, he is excited by the prospect of a new nation in South Sudan. And he has been deeply involved in the process. He organized what is called ‘Freedom Walk’, which was a door to door campaign to conduct civic education about the referendum in Nairobi and other towns where there are Sudanese residents. Through this, they were able to collect questions from the people, which they sent to the International Migration Organisation (IOM), which is overseeing the process on behalf of the South Sudan Referendum Commission (SSRC). But he believes that more could have been done to get more people to register. He believes that many people could have registered if there more was more civic education and if there was funding for the civic education groups in Kenya. Together with other local South Sudanese artistes in Kenya, they have planned a number of concerts to sensitise people on the forthcoming referendum, especially to create awareness about the symbols that will be on the ballot paper. He released a single, second class citizen in November, to coincide with the start of the registration process.